Ben Nevis Triathlon
Fort William is the second largest Scottish settlement, some 2 hours drive north west of Glasgow. Billing itself as ‘the outdoor capital of the UK’, it is an ideal base from which to find great hillwalking, climbing and premium mountain biking opportunities nearby. One of Fort William’s aces is its close proximity to the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis. At 1344m, ‘Ben’ as it’s commonly known is a popular peak for walkers although a somewhat challenging experience with only a 20% chance of a view to be found at the top due to low cloud. The summit is reached by the twisting and rigorous walking trail that begins reassuringly at the Ben Nevis Inn, just outside the main town.
Bedded in the Glen Nevis valley, the campsite at Achintee looks across the valley to the Ben which is a somewhat foreboding sight when you come from the flat lands of Hertfordshire. It’s possible to see miniature figures in brightly coloured Gore-tex at all times of day, working their way up and down the rocky track on the way to the summit. Even in the night on my way back from the shower of the campsite, I could count more than 40 headlamps on the trail, in small clusters like stars, as walkers negotiated the trail in various quests including the famous 3 Peaks in 24 hours.
The Glen Nevis Camping Park was to be the base for my Ben Nevis Triathlon experience this year, and relative comfort was assured as Katie and I had managed to hire a new style VW campervan out of Glasgow (www.caledoniancampers.co.uk) to provide transport, shelter, cooking facilities and somewhere to sleep, all in one.
The Big Triathlon as it’s known is an offroad triathlon and run by local events organiser’s Frazer and Spook of No Fuss Events. (www.nofussevents.co.uk). A relaxed and competent team, these guys ensure that everyone has a great day out, come shine … or more realistically, rain. They set up a massive saddle style marquee at the finish which this year supplied hot beef stew, get up and go music, and massage throughout the event.
Onto the race details.
The swim is in a loch, the bike is mainly offroad and the run is predominantly offroad too. Offroad triathlon’s are by design very natural, and give every competitor the chance to gather experiences more than the race itself. Difficult to explain, but once you’ve tried one, your thirst will take some quenching and I guarantee that you’ll be searching for more.
In offroad tri, it’s difficult to measure between the different races as distances and terrains can vary so much. The sheer magnitude of the area around Fort William told me that that 1.9km loch swim, 88km super hilly MTB course and 21km hill run to the summit of the Ben and back, was not going to be anywhere near a normal half ironman.
Let’s get to preparation.
This race takes place on a Saturday and so after a morning flight on Friday, we arrived to take a look around. Firstly a test of the water in Loch Linnhe. The swim is 1.9km out and back twice if that makes sense and I only needed to dip a hand in the salty loch water to remind me that I was dealing with the Atlantic at the end of the summer period, and therefore I had no further need to get wet until race day. Chilly to say the least, the dolphins that frequent the loch were nowhere to be seen, but the sighting opportunities looked good with a row of buoys down the centre and a large buoy at each end to turn on.
Transition 1 is set at the end of a ribbon of carpet on the exit of the swim, on a patch of grass surrounded by ancient stone walls giving a medieval feel to the race. It’s an easy place to make the necessary changes from swimmer to cyclist for the 88km mountain bike leg. What’s important about the bike route is that it’s a hilly 4 laps of 22km and so that gives you markers to measure your progress. For each 22km lap, 7km is on undulating road, the rest on undulating or more honestly, hilly offroad. So, hardtail MTB’s are a must and my Genesis Fortitude 29er definitely brought the advantage of fast rolling bigger wheels on all surfaces. This year cross bikes were even allowed, and although slow on the more technical wooded offroad, they caught back plenty once on the tarmac. It’s an idea to run with well pressured tires but these must be balanced to give speed on the road but also grip on the loose lengthy climbs over the ridge toward Glen Nevis and the smile inducing hardpacked trail centre style descent. There are two neutral feedpoints on each lap with supportive staff supplying a plethora of the good stuff from bits of banana to slices of mars bars. (very welcome on lap 4!) One little tip I used this year was to tape the centre of my flat bar to provide somewhere to get my ‘aero tuck on’ for the road section and become as efficient as possible. Maybe it helped with speed but mainly it helped keep me entertained and see me through the 4 hours of relentless drizzle and rain that this were thrown in for free this year.
The bike leg ends at Lochaber Leisure Centre just 500m from the swim transition and it is here that you give your bike away to waiting stewards and don your trail shoes and survival pack for the run leg. You have to carry a full upper body covering as a minimum in your pack as temperatures can plummet in the mist on the Ben to single figures and below. Nutrition was SIS energy gels, small and easy to get down. I’d planned on gloves and a Buff to combat the cold as I’m follically challenged and on the slightly skinny side.
Once out on the run, it’s easy to navigate – firstly along the road, then hit the start of the Ben Nevis path and work your way past the Ben Nevis Inn, with its warm fire and real ale (arrghh keep going!). Then the climb starts- from 45m above sea level in Fort William, you climb a brutal 1300m onwards and upwards towards the summit.
It’s important to note that you’re never alone. There are many walkers on this path and you have to give way sometimes and at least be courteous – to be honest the chance to walk a while and take the view only adds to the experience. At a point quaintly named ‘halfway’ the fun really begins. For the half distance racers it’s time to turn tail and head back down but for the questionably sane it’s time to split from the tourist trail and take something called the ‘runners paths’ skywards. Marked with yellow flouro jackets and guided by members of the local fell running club, these volunteers will see you safe up over rocky terrain on an indistinct path, passing you like a package from one to another as you skirt wide of the tourist trail which by now is zig zagging on the steepest part of the mountain. Rejoining the main trail just a km from the top, two more steep pitches see you welcomed to the aged and ruined meteorological station where you gladly ‘dib your dibber’ (wrist mounted timing chip) to prove you made it. There’s a quick opportunity to grab a welcome jelly baby, strawberry or maybe I was dreaming … dram of whisky … it’s your choice!
Then comes the descent, after some 90 mins of hard climbing, tired quads and calfs will complain as you skate and scramble safely down the loose trail, retracing your steps past the encouraging fell runners to find better visibility and warmth lower in the valley. Finally, the Ben Nevis Inn comes into sight and its several short but seemingly long km til the finish at Lochaber Leisure Centre.
This year I finished up fourth out of the 75 full distance race starters, having been overtaken by two skilled locals on the descent of the run. A lack of endurance training was my downfall with me running the red line for too long on the bike and suffering fatigue in the late stages. Ah well, thank god for the feed stations, thank god for the massage afterwards, the hot tea and all the friendly faces of competitors and supporters alike (thank you Katie). The Ben Nevis Tri brings together a complete mix of racers , the male winner Jef Dams, a young professional from Belgium stole it on the bike and the first lady, Hannah Barnes raced solidly the whole way through, and usefully lives just down the road.
Everyone knows this is a long day out and pushes you as a triathlete very hard. But don’t be put off – the event is achievable with some preparation. It is conquerable at your own pace and starts at dawn (7am at this time of year) so you’ve plenty of time to complete. For the faint hearted, the half distance race is 950m swim, 44km bike and 11km run with half the sapping height gain which makes a massive difference.
So, the Ben Nevis Triathlon is one for the diary. Think of something different for 2012, after the Olympics are all finished and done, why not keep the weekend of September 7th/8th free next year for one of those life experiences you’ve always promised yourself?
Getting there:
- Fly to Glasgow with Easyjet from Luton and other main airports. Rent a car or camper
- Train to Glasgow and rent a car or camper
- Drive North for a longish while.
Where to stay:
- Glen Nevis Camping and Caravanning (http://www.glen-nevis.co.uk )
- Ben Nevis Inn – ( http://ben-nevis-inn.co.uk/bunkhouse.asp )
- Ben Nevis Hotel (http://www.strathmorehotels.com/Ben+Nevis+Hotel/Home/ )
Where to eat:
- Nevis Centre – outdoor shop, library resources and coffee shop with snacks
- Ben Nevis Inn – high quality pub grub and real ale
- Crannog Restaurant – fish lovers on the side of Loch Linnhe
- Sammy's Fish and Chip Shop – says it all!
